1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the organization of data and, more specifically, to a computerized system and method allowing providers of information to send information to potentially interested parties in a manner wherein the information is automatically organized by category for the interested parties, wherein the potentially interested parties selectively have some level of control over the placement of the data, and establishing a communication link between providers and recipients for their mutual benefit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The proliferation of information and communication methods in the technological society in which we live has made it increasingly difficult for businesses and consumers to collect and organize information. Most businesses, as well as most households, whether inhabited by a single individual or an entire family, are constantly inundated with, and some even overwhelmed by, information taking various forms, such as product and service guides and updates, solicitations, mail (U.S., electronic, and voice), and the like. Businesses and consumers habitually store information in places that are not easily accessible, discard information for which they do not have a present use but almost always will have a later use, fail to transmit information to potentially interested third parties, or simply misplace information which cannot easily be reacquired. For example, warranty information or product manuals may be a very low priority to a retailer interested in a quick sale or to a consumer who first purchases and installs a new electronic item such as a stereo, television, video cassette recorder, DVD player, photocopier, telephone, or computer system. However, several days, weeks, or even years later, if the product has been updated, recalled, or malfunctions, or if questions arise as to its usage or compatibility, the warranty information or product manuals can become extremely useful. Unfortunately, many individuals lack a reliable, easy-to-use, centralized information storage system to keep track of such information.
The storage systems many rely upon to keep track of product and service information today generally are obsolete, cumbersome, decentralized and otherwise inefficient. For example, a filing cabinet or storage drawer, figureheads in every home and business, require categorization and re-categorization, are highly dependent on the accuracy of individuals"" placement of the information in the correct file, and provide no convenient way for transmission of updates or communications. Also, most computer software systems that provide for the electronic storage of information are frequently cumbersome to initialize, requiring the user to create the separate categories of information, and, further, to place the information in the proper category, and decentralized, requiring the user to maintain several separate computer programs for the maintenance of relevant information. Moreover, most often it is the case that information desired to be stored is not provided to individuals in digital form, but, rather, in paper, card, or booklet form. Some sophisticated users may resort to existing scanning technology to convert their important documents into digital form for storage purposes, but they still must create their own categories of information and place the information into the proper categories.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information organization system and method wherein little or no effort is required on the part of a recipient of information in order to store and manage the information in an organized fashion. It is a further object of the present invention for the information organization system and method to have information already categorized, or already designated for association with a particular category, at the time the information is provided to the recipient.
It is a further object of the present invention for the information organization system and method to provide a means for the provider of information to have, in some instances, at least some level of continued access to the information provided to the user so that the provider of information can update the information as may be necessary.
Another object of the present invention is to create a single program by which all information desired to be electronically stored or accessed by users can be maintained and updated to simplify operations and processes.
An additional object of the invention is for the information organization system and method to include, after a recipient receives information from a particular provider, means to instruct the system to facilitate proper designation of further information from the same provider in a fashion desirable to the recipient. Another object of the present invention is to include a means within the system to process a refusal of delivery of information by an intended recipient, and optionally notifying the provider of information in the event a recipient refuses delivery of the information. The manner in which these and other objects of the invention are achieved will become clear through the following Summary of the Invention, the Drawings, and the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments.
The present invention places the burden on the provider of the information to specify the category to which the information corresponds, so that when the information is provided to the recipient, the information is automatically delivered to a proper location within the recipient""s or user""s personal information storage and retrieval area, or xe2x80x9cUser Data Repository.xe2x80x9d In this disclosure, the words xe2x80x9cdataxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cinformationxe2x80x9d are considered synonymous and interchangeable. xe2x80x9cRecipientxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cUserxe2x80x9d are also used interchangeably. For purposes of this disclosure of the invention, the following definitions are considered useful:
User Data Repositoryxe2x80x94Personal information storage and retrieval area, in which information is stored in a compartmentalized or categorized format, allowing the user to easily identify, retrieve, and otherwise manage the information stored in locations corresponding to the various categories therein.
Portalxe2x80x94A collection of User Data Repositories for all Users.
Providerxe2x80x94Any provider of information, such as a seller or distributor of goods or services (e.g., retailer, pharmacist, vendor, supplier, or a physician).
Manufacturerxe2x80x94A source or producer of information about a particular product.
Quarantine Areaxe2x80x94An area in or associated with a User Data Repository, in which information is first received by the recipient before passing through a Firewall/Filter.
Firewall/Filterxe2x80x94A barrier that separates the Quarantine Area from a preferably secure or private area of the User Data Repository in which information is stored and managed.
Networkxe2x80x94A communications system allowing the transmission of information between Providers and Recipients, e.g., the Internet.
Recipient (or User)xe2x80x94A person (or other entity) that receives information from various Providers.
Reverse Communication Link (or xe2x80x9cFeedbackxe2x80x9d)xe2x80x94The transmission of information or data back from a Recipient""s User Data Repository to a Provider.
User Destination Addressxe2x80x94A protocol, code, or other identifier uniquely associated with each individual Recipient, which is utilized by the Provider for sending information to the intended Recipients via the Network.
Dynamic Informationxe2x80x94Information that a Provider or Manufacturer can revise or manipulate subsequent to delivery to Recipients.
Static Informationxe2x80x94Information that, to protect the interests of the Recipients, cannot be revised or manipulated by a Provider or Manufacturer after it is sent to Recipients.
In the system and method of the present invention, a Recipient communicates his or her User Destination Address to the Provider. Using this User Destination Address, the Provider sends information to the Recipient""s User Data Repository via the Network. The information is encoded, labeled, or tagged by the Provider, via an identification means, with a Provider Identifier that can list such information about the provider as, for example, its name, type of business, street address, phone number, e-mail address or website, and the date of a transaction between the Provider and Recipient, as well as a brief summary of the provided information. This Provider Identifier allows the Recipient to quickly assess the identity of the Provider and/or the nature of the information.
The information is additionally encoded, labeled, or tagged, via a categorization means, as relating to a particular category. The information, carrying both the identifier and the category coding, is transmitted via the Network to a User Data Repository associated with the Recipient""s User Destination Address. Preferably, when the information is first received at the User Data Repository, it is stored in the Quarantine Area.
Using the Provider Identifier, the Recipient can then decide whether to allow the information through the Firewall/Filter to a Private Area of the Recipient""s User Data Repository, to discard the information, or to keep it in the Quarantine Area. The Quarantine Area has locations to store information corresponding to a generic set of categories. While the Private Area is preferably initially provided with locations to store information corresponding to the same generic categories, the system of the present invention allows the User to modify the categorization of information in the Private Area, and create custom categories in the Private Area, as is explained in greater detail below.
The user can allow the information through the Firewall/Filter by an appropriate authorization means, such as clicking a mouse button, using a keyboard to type an answer to a query on a computer screen, e.g., xe2x80x9cAllow? YES or NOxe2x80x9d, or by using a telephone keypad. Other computer input devices may be used to authorize the information through the Firewall/Filter, such as speech recognition devices. These authorization means are by way of example only.
When the information is placed in the User Data Repository, the information is automatically placed in a location already reserved for information in the category to which the information from the Provider relates, as designated by the Provider using the categorization means. Thus, the Recipient advantageously need not make any effort in categorizing the information or placing the information in an appropriate category.
It is recognized, however, that the user may prefer to place the information in additional or alternate categories to the category initially identified by the Provider. Thus, the present invention allows the user to reassign the information to a different category, or copy the information for storage in one or more additional categories.
Desirably, the system permits the Recipient to refuse to allow information from a particular provider through that Recipient""s Firewall/Filter, and simply leave the information in the Recipient""s Quarantine Area, or alternatively, instruct the system to discard or delete the information. At the Recipient""s option, the system can be configured so that an instruction to the system to discard or delete information from a particular Provider is preserved by the system, and the system prevents all future information from that Provider from even reaching the Recipient""s Quarantine Area. In this manner, the Recipient does not receive any further information from that Provider whose information has been refused. This configuration is preferably reversible, so that the Recipient can later elect to again be able to receive information from that Provider.
The present invention may also utilize Feedback means, if desired by the Recipient, to relay back to the Provider specifics as to the reassignment or additional categorization of information performed by the Recipient, so that subsequent information sent to the same Recipient using the same User Destination Address will be properly categorized in the Recipient""s User Data Repository according to the Recipient""s customized categorization system. Advantageously, by relaying back to the Provider, via Feedback means, such specifics as to any reassignment or additional categorization performed by the Recipient, the Provider can reliably supplement the information originally sent to the Recipient if necessary, and the recipient can be assured that all copies of the Information stored in the private or secure area of his or her User Data Repository are updated with the appropriate supplement.
More preferably, the system of the present invention can be configured so that the specifics as to the reassignment or additional categorization of information performed by the Recipient pertaining to information from each particular Provider is relayed to a data storage and processing unit within the system, but remote from the Providers. Most preferably, this data storage and processing unit is associated directly with the Recipient""s Firewall/Filter. In this manner, all subsequent information transmitted from the Providers can still be properly categorized in each Recipients"" User Data Repository according to the individual Recipient""s customized categorization system, by first passing through the data storage and processing unit. Advantageously, the information is correctly categorized in each Recipient""s User Data Repository without informing the Provider as to any information as to the Recipients"" further processing of the information, and without the Provider having to update its own records for each Recipient to whom it sends information.
It is recognized that one possible form of the information provided to the Recipient may be a link to, for example, a specific page or area of an Internet website, with or without interactive features, controlled by the Provider or by a Manufacturer. This is one example of Dynamic Information a Provider or Manufacturer may furnish to Recipients. In this manner, the storage requirements for each Recipient""s User Data Repository are relatively small and the Provider or Manufacturer is able to update information for all Recipients by simply updating the website within its own control, rather than having to notify each Recipient of a particular update.
Alternatively, the information may more desirably be Static Informationxe2x80x94that is, to protect the interests of the recipients, the information can be delivered to the Recipient""s User Data Repository in a manner which prevents later revision by the Provider or Manufacturer, i.e. so as to preserve the original text of the information. If further desired, such Static Information may be accompanied by a link for the Recipients to locate Dynamic Information from the Provider or Manufacturer, such as updates or supplements.